


Never For One Second

by MillerMad



Category: robron
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-06-07 04:46:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15211367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MillerMad/pseuds/MillerMad
Summary: Aaron and Robert celebrate their first wedding anniversary





	1. Chapter 1

Never For One Second  
-O-  
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV  
-O-  
The balloons, streamers, used party poppers, empty beer cans, dirty plates and leftovers were strewn everywhere in the living room at the Mill in Emmerdale village.  
Robert looked over at Aaron, who was collecting up crockery to take to the kitchen area, “I think everyone enjoyed themselves, don’t you?”  
His husband replied as he carried the plates to the sink, “Yeah, I reckon they did...judging by this mess.”  
Robert had to chuckle. In the year that he had been married to Aaron, the younger man had become very house proud and he hated it when their home was untidy. He joined his husband by the sink and embraced him from behind, “I’ve created a domestic goddess!” he quipped as his lips gently feathered the back of Aaron’s neck, then moved on to the back of his ear.  
Aaron ignored Robert’s teasing remark and melted into the moment, letting out a little gasp, “Mmmm, you know what that does to me.”  
“You don’t usually complain.”  
Aaron twisted round in Robert’s arms so that they were now front-to-front, “No, but we’ve got clearing up to do.”  
“Sod the clearing up!” Robert rubbed the jean-clad evidence of his extreme arousal against Aaron’s own swelling crotch, covered by flimsy trakkie-bottoms, “Let’s go upstairs....now!”  
Robert’s lips crashed against his husband’s: almost sucking the air out of his lungs. Aaron’s tongue invaded Robert’s mouth, not that Robert put up any resistance and then fought back with his own.   
Aaron broke the kiss and drew his head back to stare into Robert’s eyes, “You’re insatiable! After the party last night, we were at it for hours in the bedroom.”  
“Well, you only get one first wedding anniversary,” Robert was defending his actions, which Aaron thought was so typical of him, “and how often do we get the place to ourselves?”  
“True,” Aaron grinned at his ever-loving, “but Vic will be here soon to help with the clearing up.”  
Robert gave up on his attempts to seduce his husband, “Oh yeah, I forgot. Mind you, the balloons and streamers were her idea, so it’s only right that she should help to put things straight. I’d rather go back upstairs though.”  
Aaron could see the look of disappointment on Robert’s face, “There’s always later on at the hotel, big boy!”  
That remark tickled Robert and they both dissolved into a fit of the giggles, just as Victoria knocked on the door.   
Victoria could see that her brother and brother-in-law were in a jovial mood, “What’s so funny?” she asked as she entered.  
“Private joke,” Aaron replied.   
Victoria realised that Aaron’s evasion of the question was an attempt to gloss over an intimate moment between the married couple. She did not pursue the matter as she knew Aaron of old and that he would be embarrassed to talk about anything of a personal nature.  
“Great party last night,” she quickly changed the subject, “I notice everyone scoffed my savoury flan.”  
“It was very tasty,” Robert replied, “you’ll have to give me the recipe.”  
Victoria knew that Robert loved to cook, “Yeah, sure. Even Marlon was impressed: he wants to put it on the menu at the Woolpack.”  
“I’m not surprised,” Aaron chipped in, “they could make it a speciality of the house and it would draw the tourists in from all around.”  
For a moment, Victoria almost thought that Aaron was making a sarcastic remark, but one look at his face confirmed that he was being serious, “Aww, thanks, Aaron.”  
Victoria grabbed a black sack and gathered up some beer cans, “So, brother of mine,” she looked at Robert, “where do you know that Deanna from?” Victoria was referring to a girl who had been a guest at the party.  
“We met when she worked for the same company as me, before I worked for Lawrence,” Robert answered.  
“How come she’s suddenly turned up now? You never mentioned her before,” Vic said.  
“I bumped into her again recently,” Robert replied, “the company that she now works for wanted Home James Haulage to organise some logistics and took out a contract with our firm. I told her about the party and she kind of invited herself along.”  
“She’s got legs up to her armpits,” Vic joked, “and lovely hair, a really unusual shade of red. Is it natural?”  
“As far as I know, why do you ask?”  
“I just wondered if she dyed it that colour, it’s quite striking.”  
“I don’t know the ins and outs of her beauty secrets.”   
“I know she was all over you like a rash,” Vic chortled.  
“Rubbish!” Robert was being defensive. He shot a quick glance in Aaron’s direction, worried that Vic’s remark would bring Aaron’s insecurities to the surface, but his husband was dropping litter into a sack and did not seem to be paying attention.   
“What time are you and Aaron leaving later?” Vic realised that she might be speaking out of turn and rapidly changed the subject.  
“We’re booked in at the hotel this evening,” Robert answered, “so we’ll have to leave here around four this afternoon. Thanks for offering to babysit.”  
“No problem,” Vic smiled at her brother, “I love having Seb and Liv to stay. You and Aaron need your own space sometimes and your anniversary is a good excuse for you to have a bit of time on your own.”  
Robert smiled warmly at his sister: he knew that Victoria always had his back. She adored Aaron and loved the fact that he and Robert had tied the knot and they were blissfully happy together. She knew that the past twelve months had been the happiest of both Aaron’s and Robert’s lives.   
After all the clearing up at the Mill, Robert headed off to the portacabin at the yard while Aaron headed for Dingle’s garage as he had promised Cain that he would help out for the day. Cain had a bit of a backlog, but he had to help Moira with a crisis at the farm, so ever-helpful Aaron had stepped into the breach. Robert knew that Aaron was helping the family and his husband’s loyal nature was one of the many reasons why he loved him so much.   
At about noon that day, Deanna suddenly turned up at the portacabin, unannounced.  
Robert looked up from the laptop screen that he had been concentrating on, “Hello, what are you doing here? We don’t have an appointment, do we?” he asked as he stood up.  
“Do I need an appointment to look up an old friend?” Deanna replied, defensively.   
“You saw me last night at the party.”  
“Yes, I know, but I didn’t have the chance to talk to you properly in that environment.”  
“About what?” Robert was not picking up on the signals that Deanna was sending out.  
“Robert, you know how I felt about you,” Deanna moved closer to Robert, “in fact, how I still feel about you. I know you’re now married to Aaron, but that doesn’t matter!” Deanna put her hands either side of Robert’s waist, “You must miss being with a woman, you still have that side of your sexuality and you must have unfulfilled needs. I can take care of your bisexual needs: you only have to say the word: I’m willing to compromise.”   
Deanna was a very attractive woman with her slim figure and flame-red hair. In other circumstances, Robert would have been very tempted. She moved in for a kiss, but Robert gripped her shoulders and pushed her away, holding her at arm’s length, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”  
Deanna pouted and tried to be seductive, “You must miss being with a woman. Aaron’s lovely but he’s very manly and you need a woman to satisfy you. Admit it!”  
“I’m admitting nothing,” Robert became angry, “you always were a needy, manipulative sort! That’s why I broke it off with you before. I’m happily married to Aaron and I don’t want anyone else: male or female. My bisexuality is not an issue for me: I’ve made my choice and I’m with the man I love.”  
Deanna wanted to try to talk Robert round, but she knew her chance had passed when she heard the door to the portacabin swing open.   
Aaron entered and gave them a quizzical look, but he greeted her, “Hi Deanna, did you enjoy the party last night?”  
Deanna smiled, “Yes thanks, Aaron, it was great.” She felt that she needed to offer an explanation for her presence, “I just had some business to discuss with Robert, but we’re finished now.”  
“I was going to grab some lunch with Robert at the Woolpack,” Aaron said, “would you like to join us?”  
“That’s very kind of you,” Deanna answered, “but I’m due back in the office: another time perhaps.”  
Deanna beat a hasty retreat.   
xxxxxxxxxx  
Later that day, Aaron was quiet as he sat in the passenger seat of the car as Robert drove them to the hotel in the Lake District. They arrived at the hotel in good time, checked in and settled themselves into their room, which had lovely views over Ullswater.  
Robert picked up on Aaron’s subdued mood over dinner, he knew that something was troubling his husband as they were so in tune, so he tackled the subject once they were back in their room again. They stood by the window, admiring the beautiful view.   
“I’m guessing that Deanna’s arrival is bothering you,” Robert came straight to the point.  
“No! Why should it?” Aaron countered.  
Robert had expected exactly that reaction: he knew his husband so well, “Because, at one time in the past, we were an item and you could feel threatened.”  
Aaron took hold of Robert’s hands, “No, I don’t. I would have done once upon a time, but I trust you Robert. You are always honest with me now and if you say there’s nothing going on then that’s fine by me. At one time, you never would have opened up so freely. I know you are telling the truth. I also know that you have had many lovers in the past, male and female, but I can’t go through life fretting over them whenever one appears. Never for one second have I doubted you.”  
“Thank you for trusting me,” Robert looked close to tears, “no-one has ever trusted me like you do and I would never betray you. As I’ve always told you, you are it for me and no-one else comes close. I love you so much.”  
They both leaned in for a kiss at the same moment. When their lips parted, Aaron held his forehead against Robert’s, “I love you too: it still scares me how much.”  
Robert pulled Aaron towards the bed, they kissed passionately and tore off each other’s clothes and they were totally naked by the time that they fell onto the bed together. Aaron’s lips moved from Robert’s own to his right ear, nibbling it and eliciting gasps from the older man. Robert’s lips found Aaron’s strong neck and he nibbled and sucked, producing a love-bite. Aaron groaned and he felt Robert’s bone hard erection rubbing against his own. He was about to assume a submissive position but Robert stopped him.

“What’s wrong?” Aaron asked.  
“Absolutely nothing!” Robert replied as he took Aaron’s stiff, throbbing member in his hand and stroked it gently, “it’s just that I’d like this inside me this time.”   
Aaron chuckled, he was so focussed on Robert possessing him that he sometimes forgot that Robert occasionally liked to play the passive role too. Robert was on his back with his thick thighs already spread in invitation. Aaron used some lube and then took aim and his husband grunted softly as he felt the familiar penetration. They wrapped their muscular arms tightly around each other and kissed fiercely as they melded together as one. They lost all track of time as they made love and both of them felt complete for the few minutes that they were joined together. Ever since their very first time, neither of them ever felt whole without the other one.   
After they both climaxed simultaneously, they kissed and cuddled: more gently now. Their lips finally parted and Aaron spoke, “Happy anniversary, babe,” he said softly.  
Robert’s face was glowing in the aftermath of their union, his eyes were shining with love, “Happy anniversary to you too, babe,” he whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deanna returns with a surprise for Robert

Never For One Second – Chapter 2  
-O-  
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV  
-O-  
“It’s warm tonight, isn’t it?” Aaron broke off from a long kiss with Robert. They were sitting on their sofa in the Mill and taking advantage of having the house to themselves for once as Liv had gone to visit her mother Sandra for a few days. 

“Is it?” Robert teased, “Or is that your way of telling me that I’m a hot guy.”  
Aaron chuckled, “In your dreams, soft lad! I’m hardly going to tell you that....and make your oversized ego even bigger than it already is.”  
Robert joined in with the banter that was such an integral part of their relationship, “Well, that kiss you gave me has made something else bigger,” he ran his hand up Aaron’s muscular thigh towards his husband’s own swelling crotch.  
Just then, they heard Seb’s distressed voice from upstairs, “Daddy!”  
Robert, although he did not want to interrupt their intimate moment, immediately jumped up, “He’s probably having another bad dream.”  
Aaron followed Robert up the spiral staircase to their son’s bedroom. Robert tenderly scooped Seb up into his arms and cuddled him, “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”  
“There’s a monster in the wardrobe,” Seb said, between little sobs.  
Aaron opened the door to the wardrobe to show that there were no monsters hiding in there, “Look Sebby, there aren’t any monsters,” he smiled at the lad.  
Seb did not look necessarily convinced, although he could see for himself that the wardrobe did not contain any nasty surprises. Aaron crossed over to the bed and he and Robert arranged themselves either side of Seb and both hugged him.  
“You don’t have to be frightened,” Robert cooed, “Daddy Aaron and I will always chase any nasty monsters away. Try to get back to sleep.”  
Seb settled down again after Robert and Aaron both kissed him on the forehead. He was calmed by his parents’ reassurances and closed his eyes. Aaron and Robert waited until he drifted off to sleep again and then went back downstairs.  
As they resumed their previous positions on the sofa, Robert spoke, “I expect he’s still a bit delirious after that head-cold he had.”  
“I knew you shouldn’t have read him that story about dinosaurs at bedtime,” Aaron replied, “he’s got such a vivid imagination.”  
“But he likes that story,” Robert defended his actions, a trait which never surprised Aaron in the slightest.  
“He can certainly be a bit of a passion killer at times!” Aaron pouted as he changed the subject and Robert looked a little disgruntled.  
“You’re not starting to resent him, are you?” Robert was always very aware of Aaron’s early reaction to Seb when he was born and it sometimes still concerned him, even though it was practically ancient history.  
“God, no! Of course I’m not,” Aaron quickly took Robert’s hands in his own in a reassuring gesture, “I told you I’ll never resent him and I never will: I love him. All I meant was he does pick his moments to interrupt us.”  
Robert looked relieved at Aaron’s confirmation that he thought of Seb as his own and kissed him. He broke the kiss and stared into a pair of baby-blue eyes that had mesmerised him from the start and also held a simple honesty, “You are such a special person, Aaron. I would never want anyone but you as my life-partner. I have never met anyone as loyal and loving as you. Thank you.”  
Aaron continued to hold Robert’s hands in his own, “Robert Jacob Sugden-Dingle, I told you a long time ago we are a family and, in my book, family comes first....always.”  
Robert kissed his husband again, just because he could.  
xxxxxxxxxx  
The next day, Robert called round at Victoria’s to return a baking tin that he had borrowed from his sister.  
“I’m sorry I couldn’t babysit last night,” Victoria said.  
“That’s okay, we managed,” Robert thought back to his son’s interruption of his and Aaron’s intimate moment the previous evening, but he did not elaborate, “did you have a good time?”  
“Yeah,” Vic replied, “we had a girly night out at that new bar in town. We bumped into someone you know.”  
“Oh yeah, who was that?”  
“Deanna: that girl who came to your anniversary party last year.”  
“Oh,” Robert looked surprised, “I haven’t seen her since then. I thought she’d moved away.”  
“No, she still lives in Hotten. Apparently, she lost her job and is temping as a waitress. She was asking after you.”  
“Well, if she lost her job, that’s probably why I haven’t seen her. The only time we had any recent contact was through the business.”  
“So you won’t be asking her to this year’s anniversary bash then?”  
“I doubt it,” the memory of Deanna trying to seduce him the previous year came back to Robert, “like I say, she was a business acquaintance.”  
“I thought you said she was an old friend.”  
“Why am I getting the third degree about a girl I hardly know?”  
Vic felt that Robert was being evasive, “I wouldn’t call an old friend ‘someone you hardly know’!”  
“What I mean is: she is history. I have a new life now: a very happy one. Can we drop the subject please?”  
Victoria felt that there was something Robert wasn’t telling her, but she knew better than to push her brother too far, “Okay,”  
Vic had a cheeky smirk on her face.  
“What?” Robert had seen Vic’s expression.  
“I don’t know, I only go into Hotten once in a blue moon and I keep bumping into hoards of your ex-girlfriends.”  
Robert displayed his customary bravado, “Deanna is hardly what I would call hoards. Anyway, can I help it if I’m irresistible?”  
Vic was not convinced, “Yeah, right!” she said with all the sarcasm that she could muster.  
xxxxxxxxxx  
That evening, Aaron and Robert were having their usual evening drink in the Woolpack.  
Sitting at a table, sipping their beers, Aaron happened to be looking at the door and he was not prepared for the sight of a young man entering the pub. He did a double-take as he studied the handsome, dark-haired lad. For a moment, he thought that it must be a case of mistaken identity, but the young man spotted him and nodded in recognition: there was no mistake. He approached the table.  
“Aaron!” the stranger exclaimed, “I thought I might find you in here.”  
Robert immediately picked up on the young man’s French accent. He was slim and attractive, with light stubble and dark brown eyes.  
“Jean-Claude!” it was Aaron’s turn to exclaim this time as he rose from his seat, “What are you doing here?”  
They shook hands, but Jean-Claude pulled Aaron into a hug, “It is so good to see you again.”  
Robert looked on and was somewhat bemused. Aaron looked at him and realised that he needed to make some introductions, “Robert, this is Jean-Claude.”  
Aaron turned back to the Frenchman, “Jean-Claude, this is my husband, Robert.”  
“Husband?” Jean-Claude obviously thought that he had misheard, “Pleased to meet you, Robert.” Aaron found it strange to hear his husband’s name pronounced with a French accent, it sounded like Jean-Claude was saying “Ro-bear.”  
After Robert and Jean-Claude shook hands he insisted on buying them a round of drinks and then joined them at their table.  
“Well,” Aaron said, “you still haven’t answered my question.”  
“What question?” Jean-Claude replied.  
“What are you doing here?”  
“The rally team are over here for an event in Yorkshire,” Jean-Claude explained, “I knew you lived here, so I thought I’d look you up, you know....how you say, for old time’s sake.”  
“Well, it’s certainly a surprise, I had no idea you were coming.”  
“I’ve had a surprise too,” Jean-Claude said, “I didn’t expect to find that you are married now.”  
“Life moves on and things change,” Aaron answered, he seemed to be in a philosophical mood, although Robert had the feeling that Aaron was being a little brusque with Jean-Claude.  
It was later on, in the privacy of their own home, that Robert made further enquiries about the Frenchman, “He seemed nice, that Jean-Claude, did you say he is a rally driver?”  
“Yeah, that’s right,” Aaron replied, although he did not elaborate. Robert knew his husband of old and he was used to Aaron and the scant information that he would ever furnish about any subject.  
Robert, undeterred by Aaron’s reticence to open up, continued his line of questioning, “So, you seemed to be quite chummy. Were you an item once?”  
Aaron thought that Robert was sometimes more sagacious than he gave him credit for and he glanced at his husband with a knowing look, “What’s this, twenty questions?”  
Robert was sure then that Jean-Claude was an ex-boyfriend of his husband’s. Aaron’s evasion of the question was all the proof he needed. He stared at his husband, raising his eyebrows as he did so and Aaron was aware that his husband had guessed the truth. He could be so annoying at times as he was invariably right about things.  
“Look, we have no secrets,” Aaron knew that it was a waste of time trying to keep anything from Robert: they knew each other so well, “We had a fling once....well, more than a fling really. I felt bad as I was still seeing Ed at the time. But Ed was often away for days on end at his rugby matches and I saw Jean-Claude every day at work. One thing led to another and we ended up in bed together. It happened a few times and I realised that I was developing feelings for Jean-Claude, so I told Ed that I’d found someone else. Ed became all possessive and called me all sorts of names and then slung me out of the flat.”  
“So then you went to live with Jean-Claude?”  
“No, I didn’t actually. Jean-Claude had gone to another town to attend a race meeting. I was going to ask him about moving in, but just then I got that message from Adam which brought me back home. So the irony was that I’d left Ed, was going to move in with Jean-Claude, but came home to the UK and didn’t end up with either of them.”  
“Well, I’m glad you did come home, otherwise we never would have met.”  
“Yeah,” Aaron looked wistful, “I’d resigned myself to being alone and then you came along.”  
“Any regrets?” Robert asked.  
“About what?”  
“About meeting me.”  
Aaron took Robert’s hands in his own, “How can you even ask that? You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I always knew, deep down, that it wouldn’t last with Ed. As for Jean-Claude, well, it was fun but I realise now that it wasn’t the real thing: I texted him to tell him I’d moved back to England, permanently. Anyway, I didn’t know what the real thing was until I met you.”  
They kissed.  
Robert drew back after the kiss and looked at Aaron steadily, “So I owe Jean-Claude....and Ed....a debt of gratitude. If things had turned out differently, you might still be in France now and I’d probably be with a woman: pretending to be something that I’m not and still as unhappy as I used to be.”  
Aaron’s thoughts flashed back to his first love, “Well, you can thank Jackson too. I once nearly proposed to him you know?”  
“What, before he had the accident, you mean?”  
“No, afterwards.”  
“Wow, that would have been a barrel of laughs, spending life with a tetraplegic!” Robert checked himself and thought he might be sounding a little insensitive, “Sorry, that wasn’t a very nice thing to say.”  
Aaron was impressed at how caring Robert had become, “It’s okay, I understand. But it does make you reflect on how your life could have taken a different course,” Aaron pulled Robert towards the staircase, “but the only direction I want to go in at the moment is upstairs....with you.”  
Robert allowed himself to be propelled towards the bedroom. Aaron was with the only man who could boss him around and get away with it.  
xxxxxxxxxx  
The next day, Aaron had gone to the scrap yard and Robert was working from home. He sat in the living room typing on his laptop computer when there was an unexpected knock at the door. He answered it to find a familiar face staring back at him.  
“Deanna!” he exclaimed.  
A young girl, possibly around ten years of age, stood patiently next to her. She had Deanna’s colouring and Robert guessed that she must be related to her.  
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Deanna said as Robert stood with his mouth open.  
“Yes, of course,” Robert realised that he was forgetting his manners and moved aside to allow them entrance.  
They stood in the living room, “I always like your home: it’s classy,” Deanna remarked.  
“Thanks,” Robert replied, “What are you doing here?”  
“There’s something I need to tell you.”  
“Oh!” Robert looked at the younger girl with Deanna, “and who have we here?”  
“Robert, meet Stacey....your daughter!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron discovers that Robert has a daughter. How will it affect their relationship?

Never For One Second – Chapter 3  
-O-  
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV  
-O-  
Robert tossed and turned in bed that night. Several times, he kicked Aaron as he thrashed about. Aaron was used to it as Robert always had that habit: ever since they had first slept together, but he knew that something was troubling his husband.   
Robert roused and, finding it impossible to get back to sleep again, he turned on his bedside lamp. He looked over at Aaron and could see that he too was awake. “Sorry!” he apologised, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”  
“I wasn’t asleep,” Aaron replied, “not with your feet giving me a good kicking!”  
“Sorry,” Robert repeated his apology, “maybe I’ll get up and go and get a drink, do you want one?”  
“What I want is for you to tell me what’s wrong,” was Aaron’s sardonic reply, “you know we don’t keep things hidden from each other anymore.”  
Robert was aware that Aaron knew him better than anyone else on Earth. They were so close that they instinctively knew when something was troubling either of them. He took Aaron’s hand in his own and his husband clasped it, intertwining their fingers.   
“You do know I love you more than life, don’t you?”  
“What have you done?” Aaron looked apprehensive.  
“I’m so scared of losing you,” Robert’s voice trembled.  
“You’ll never lose me,” Aaron reassured him, “as long as you are always honest with me and tell me the truth.”  
Robert cleared his throat, ready for a long explanation, “I just found out today that I have a daughter I never knew I had. It came as a big shock, I can tell you. You remember that Deanna at last year’s anniversary party?”  
Aaron nodded.  
“Well, she turned up with a 10-year-old girl in tow and said she was my daughter Stacey.”  
“What?!” Aaron looked totally shell-shocked and he let go of Robert’s hand and climbed out of bed. He made for the door.  
“Where are you going?” Robert was concerned.  
“I need a drink,” Aaron replied as he disappeared.  
Robert immediately jumped out of bed and made his way down the spiral staircase. He found Aaron in the kitchen, downing a shot of whiskey.  
“I knew it,” Robert said, “as soon as Deanna turned up with that girl: I knew it would drive a wedge between us. I’ve ruined everything,” Robert looked utterly crestfallen.   
Aaron poured himself another shot, “I just need to get my head around it....it’s a lot to take in. You go back to bed.”  
“But I don’t want to leave you down here on your own.”  
“Robert....I need to be on my own, just for a bit, I’ll be up later.”  
Robert did not want to leave it there, but he knew better than to argue the point with his husband, so he walked towards the stairs, pausing on the bottom rung, “Love you,” he said, looking at Aaron.  
“Yeah, love you too,” Aaron replied.   
Robert took comfort from Aaron’s confirmation that he still loved him, but he was still worried that he might have spoilt things between them. He climbed the stairs with a heavy heart.   
Robert fidgeted about as he tried to get to sleep. He waited for his husband to come back upstairs, but he knew that he had to let Aaron digest the news at his own pace. Despite his anguish, his tiredness eventually got the better of him and he drifted off to sleep. He awoke at seven o’clock and realised that Aaron was not in the bed with him, so he quickly made his way downstairs in search of his husband, but Aaron was nowhere to be found. Robert sank down into a chair at the kitchen table and put his head in his hands. The tears came and he sobbed as he realised that Aaron had left him.   
xxxxxxxxxx  
Later that morning, Robert had composed himself and he walked to the scrap yard, thinking that Aaron might have gone into work early. He had tried ringing him several times, but his mobile was switched off and the calls went to voicemail. He could see movement inside the cabin as he climbed the steps, but on opening the door he was disappointed to see that Aaron was not there: the only occupants were Jimmy and Ellis.  
“Is Aaron around?” Robert asked in a nonchalant way, not wanting to give the impression that there was anything wrong at home.  
“Haven’t seen him this morning,” Ellis replied, “he’s supposed to be helping me strip down a motor this morning, but he seems to be skiving off! But then, that is his prerogative as he’s the boss!”  
“Yeah and don’t you forget it,” Robert defended his husband as always, then turned and left the cabin again. Jimmy was about to say something to Robert about work, but Robert disappeared before he had the chance.   
Robert started back towards the Mill, but then something stopped him in his tracks. As he came within sight of the B&B, he saw Aaron coming out of the front door with his French friend Jean-Claude. They were laughing and joking together and Robert suddenly feared the worst. He did not know where Aaron had spent the night and his imagination started to run away with him. He saw Jean-Claude hug Aaron as the two of them parted and he kept on walking as Aaron sauntered in his direction.  
“What’s going on?” Robert said as they got near enough to speak.  
“Nothing!” Aaron was being defensive. He knew that Robert must have seen him with Jean-Claude, but he acted the innocent, “I can’t stop, I’m late for work and I promised Ellis I’d help him this morning: he’ll be sending out a search party. I’ll see you at home tonight, okay?”  
Robert had about a thousand questions buzzing around in his brain, but he knew it was pointless to interrogate Aaron in the middle of the street, so he decided to play it cool. He knew that Aaron would only open up when he wanted to, so he just said “Okay!” as Aaron continued towards the scrap yard.   
xxxxxxxxxx  
Robert was cooking a chicken with potatoes and vegetables when Aaron arrived home that evening. He wanted to prepare something special for them and they would have the place to themselves as Liv was still away and Vic was babysitting Seb at her house.   
“Something smells good,” Aaron said as he caught a whiff of the roast chicken.  
“It’s nearly ready,” Robert said as he made the gravy, “sit at the table and I’ll dish up.”  
They sat and ate their meal. Robert was bursting to ask Aaron about the previous night and Aaron was bursting to find out more about Robert’s long-lost daughter, but they chatted about their day like they usually did. However, the events of the previous night soon became ‘the elephant in the room’ and, as they finished their sweet, Aaron was first to broach the subject, “So, you said that your daughter’s name is Stacey?”  
Robert was almost taken aback by Aaron’s almost casual attitude, but he answered, “Yes, that’s right.”  
“So you were obviously serious about this Deanna then, once upon a time?” Aaron asked.  
Robert knew that he needed to be totally honest with Aaron and so he just simply replied, “Yes, but I never knew that she was pregnant or that she gave birth to my child. It came out of the blue when she turned up on the doorstep.”  
They looked at each other and there was an awkward silence. Robert decided to take the bull by the horns and ask the question he dreaded the answer to, “So, where did you spend last night?”  
“On the sofa.”  
“Why didn’t you come back to bed?”  
“I needed to get my head straight,” Aaron said, “I did a lot of thinking and I didn’t want you to give me a lot of explanations about Stacey and do my head in. I just needed to work things out for myself and decide where we go from here.”  
“And where do we go?” Robert was on tenterhooks.  
“We carry on as normal,” Aaron replied, which caused Robert to breathe a sigh of relief.  
Robert still did not have the answer to one of his most burning questions, so he asked it, “How come you ended up at the B&B with Jean-Claude this morning?”  
“You don’t need to be jealous,” Aaron reassured him, “I left here to go to work at 6 o’clock as I couldn’t sleep and I bumped into Jean-Claude who was out for an early morning jog: that’s typical of him. He’s the one that got me into jogging when I was in France. Anyway, I hadn’t had any tea or coffee and he invited me in for a cup. So I went in with him and we had a long chat about our time in France and my life with you now.”  
“Oh?” Robert wanted to hear more.  
“Well, that’s it really. I told him I met you when I came back to the UK and that you were the one. I said I fell madly in love with you and I still am.”  
This was music to Robert’s ears and he took hold of his husband’s hand, “I was so scared. I thought that I’d lost you. When I first told you about Seb, it split us up for a long time.”  
“That’s totally different. You slept with Rebecca while we were together and Seb was the result. But Stacey was born before we even met. We both have pasts, Robert. After all, you didn’t know about Jean-Claude until a couple of days ago. Neither of us were celibate before we got married. As I’m gay, I’m not likely to have any kids tucked away, but it’s different for you as you’ve had relationships with women. What we have now is too special to throw away over the discovery of a secret from your past. I grew to love Seb and I’m sure I’ll love Stacey too.”  
Robert kissed Aaron: then stared deep into his beautiful blue eyes, “You are so special, Aaron. I’ve never met anyone as understanding as you. I was so frightened that this discovery would drive a wedge between us.”  
“We are married, Robert. I meant every word of my vows at our wedding. Whatever life throws at us, we face it together, okay? I love you.”  
“I will never let you down Aaron, I promise. I love you too.”  
They kissed, sealing the loving bond that they always shared. Nothing could ever break the Sugden-Dingles.


End file.
